Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1887-10-01
c3yOMAC- G. 3. Va SATURDAY, OCTOBER |, 1887

there are tens Of thousands Of such men get
ting splelitlidly through. They see other
going up and themselves going down, bu
thoy keep their patience, and their courage
aud their Christian consistency, and after {
while their turn Of SUCCESS will come. The
owners OF the big business will die and theii
boys will get possession Of the business, ano
with n cigar in their mouth, and full to the
chin with the best liquor, anu behind pnir
of spanking bays they will pass everything
OH the turnpike road to temporal and eternal
peryliti II. Then the business will break up.
and tho smaller dealers will have fair oppol.
tunity. Or the spirit OF contontnicnt and
right feeling will take possession Of the
largo firm, MS recently in the case of
A. A. Low 6 Co., and the firm will
say: Eve have enough money for all our
needs and the needs Of Our children; now, let
US dissolve business md make way for other
men in the same line" Instead of being
startled at q solitary instance Of magnanini-
ity, us i'll the case just mentioned, it will be-
come common thing. know of scores of
great business houses that ;have had their OPP
portunity OF vast accumulation, and=who
oughtto Quit But perhaps for oil the days
Of this generation the struggle of small houses
to keep alive under the overshadowing pres
sure OF great houses will continue; therefore,
taking things US they are, You will be wise to
preserve your equilibrium, and your honesty,
and your faith, and throw over all the coun-
tiers, and shelves, and barrels, and hogsheads,
and cotton bales, aud rice casks, the monsur-
ing line of divine right. Sand the Lord said
unto me, Amos, what seest thou2 And
snid, plumb line.'
In tile same why we need to measure our
theologies. All sorts of religions are putting
forth their professions. Some have spirit
uaistic religion, and their chief work is with
ghosts, and others religion of political econ
omy, proposing to put mn end to human MIS-
cry by new style Of taxation, and there is q
humanitarian religion that looks after the
body of men and lets the soul look after itself,
and there is legislative religion that pro-
poses to rectify all wrongs Ivy enactment of
better laws, and there is an aesthetic religion
that by rules of exquisite taste would lift the
heart out of its deformities, md religions Of
all sorts, religious by tile peck, religions
by the square foot, and religions by
tile ton-all of them devices of the devil that
would Take the heart away from the only re-
ligion that will ever effect anything for the
human race. and that is the straight up ana
down religion written in the book, which be-
gins with Genesis and ends with Revelation,
the religion of the skies, the old religion, the
God given religion, the everlasting religion,
which says: "Love God above all aud your
neiglIbor MS yourself" All religions but this
one begin ut the wrong end and in the wrong
place. The Bible religion demands that
we first get right with God. 1t be-
gins at the top and measures down, while
lilo other religions begin ut the bottom and
try to measure up. They stand Mt the foot
of the wall up to their knees in the mud of
human theory and speculation, and have
plummet and a string tied fast to it, And
they throw the pummet this way, and break
n head there, and throw the plummet
mother way and break head there, and
then they throw it up. and it comes down
upon their own pnte Fools! Why will
YOU stand Mt the foot Of tile wall measur-
ing up when you Ought to stand at
tho top measuring down7 A few days ago
was IN the country, thirsty after
long yak. And I came in, and my
child was blowing soap bubbles. and
they rolled sout of the cup, blue, and gold,
and green, and sparkling, and beautiful, and
orbicular, and .inso small q space meyer sow
more spendor concentrated. But she blew
once too often and nll tho glory vanished into
shls. Then TUNED aud took glass of
plain water and was refreshed And so far
as soul thirst is concerned, put against oil
tue glowing, glittering soap bubbles Of
worldly reform and human speculation one
draught from tho fountain from under the
throne of God, clear MS crystal. Glory to
God for the religion that drops from above,
not coming up from beneathl "And tho Lorl
said unto me, Amos, what seest thoui and
said, A plumb liue.'
want you to notice this fact, that when
man gives up the straight up aud down re-
ligion in the Bible for any Hew tangled relig-
ion, it is generally to suit lis SINS You first
hear of his change of religion, and then you
hear of some swindle he has practiced i'll Col
orado mining stock, telling some one if he will
put in $4,000 lie can take out 100000, or he
has sacrificed his chastity. or plunged into IT.
renlediable worldlness. His Sins arc SO broad
he has to broaden his religion, anil lie becomes
as broad as temptation, os broad as the
souls darkness, rs broad as bell. They
want religion that will allow them to keep
their sins, and then ut death say to them:
aNell done, good and faithful servant" and
tells Them "Al is well, for there is no hell"
What q glorious heaven they bold before usl
Come, let us go in and see 1t. There is Herod
md all the babes he massacred. There is
Charles Guiteau, and Jim Fisk, and Robes
At. f.;a Of Ernnc6 rrt,i1lntir1a
and ali the liars, thieves, house burners. gar
rioters, pickpockets and libertines of all the
centuries. They have all got crowns, and
thrones, and harps, and scepters, and when
they chant they sing: Thanksgiving, and
honor, and glory, and power to tue broad re-
licion that let US all into heaven without re-
pentance and faith in those disgraceful dog
mas of ecclesiastical old fogyism."
My text gives Inc grand opportunity OF
saying useful word to all young men who
are row forming habits for lifetime. OF
what use to q stonelnason or a brickluyer is O
plumb line? Why not build. the wall by the
unaided eye and hand? Because they are in
sufficient, because il there be o DETECTION i'll
the wall it cannot further on be corrected.
Because by tue law of gravitation wall
must be straight IN order to be symmetrical
and safe. A young man is i'll danger of
getting defect III bis wall of character that
may never be corrected. One OF the best
friends ever had died OF delirium trcmens
at GO years of age, though he had not since
81 years of age-before which he had been
dissipated-tonched into eating liquor until
that particular carousse stnt took Kim OFF.
Not feeling wellin street on hot summer
day he steppedinto drug store, just as you
and would haverlonc, and asked for dose
of something to make him feel better. And
there was alcohol in the dose, and
that one drop aroused the old appe-
tite, ;and he entered the first liquor store, and
stayed there until thoroughly under The
power of rum He entered his home raw
ing maniac his wife and daughters fleeing
from his presence, until he was taken to the
city hospital to die. The colnbustible mate
ial Of early habit had lain quiet nearly forty